LFC and Standard Chartered begin week of activity

Liverpool FC and Standard Chartered are today kicking off a week of activity to support Standard Chartered's global charitable initiative 'Seeing is Believing', which aims to tackle avoidable blindness.

The highlight of the week will be the home clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, March 30, when the Reds will replace the usual Standard Chartered logo on their shirts with the 'Seeing is Believing' emblem.

This will be the third time that the 'Seeing is Believing' logo has been displayed on the iconic red jersey to raise awareness of the programme's work in the fight against avoidable blindness.

After the game, five limited edition player shirts from the match will be signed and auctioned on eBay to raise money for 'Seeing is Believing'; all donations will be matched by Standard Chartered, making this fixture the 'Perfect Match', with the club and its sponsor coming together to support an important cause.

The club will also raise awareness for 'Seeing is Believing' by releasing five videos throughout the week. The clips will see first-team players Lucas Leiva and Jordan Henderson, legends Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman, and celebrity fans John Bishop and Andy Brown taking part in a number of challenges, competing to see who will be crowned the 'Perfect Match' pair.

These videos will also form the basis of a competition to win signed 'Seeing is Believing' Liverpool shirts via Standard Chartered's Facebook page.

Further activities will focus on a local project visit by first-team players Iago Aspas and Simon Mignolet, and live match commentary on Twitter via @LFC by legend Dietmar Hamann during the aforementioned Spurs fixture.

Richard Meddings, group finance director at Standard Chartered and chairman of 'Seeing is Believing', commented: "'Seeing is Believing' has received incredibly strong support from Liverpool FC fans in the past, raising more than £100,000 through the activities around the last two 'Perfect Match' games. We are very grateful for that support, which helps transform the lives of many individuals around the world by either preventing or curing avoidable blindness."

There are 39million blind people worldwide, yet in eight out of 10 cases, blindness can be prevented or treated. 90 per cent of avoidable blindness occurs in the developing world, affecting many communities where Standard Chartered operates.

Through simple treatments and affordable surgeries, it is possible to transform the lives of both children and adults, benefiting not only those who receive treatment, but also their families. It is one of the most cost-effective health interventions - with a cataract operation, for example, costing as little as £17.

Tackling avoidable blindness is an issue with which Standard Chartered has been helping to make an impact and the bank has been supporting the cause for more than a decade.

Billy Hogan, chief commercial officer at Liverpool, added: "We continue to work closely with Standard Chartered to raise awareness and funds for 'Seeing is Believing' both in the UK and the rest of the world.

"For the past two seasons, the logo swap has worked as a fantastic platform to help promote the initiative and raise money, and we hope this season it can go even further. 'Seeing is Believing' is a fantastic programme and we are proud to be able to use the reach of Liverpool FC to support such a worthy cause."

After the match against Tottenham, fans will be able to bid for the limited edition shirts from the game through eBay, with all money raised going towards 'Seeing is Believing'. Fans can head to www.ebay.co.uk/perfectmatch from 5pm BST on Monday, March 31.